Clover honey fermentation and spry hop bitterness counter toasted barley-oats serenade to smooth finish, but tobacco-leafed lemon and nectar illusions hidden too far below surface. Brewery defunct: 2006.
Monthly Archives: January 2009
DERGY’S GOLDEN ALE
Rhapsodic medium-bodied golden delight picks up caramel essence and doughy sinew by tobacco-tinged barley-oats finish, curiously blending red ale-like malted grain sweetness with IPA hop spicing along the way. Brewed under Williamsville Brewing handle ‘Golden Lager’ thereafter. Brewery defunct: 2006.
DERGY’S CLASSIC PORTER
Heavy espresso frontage and sour coffee foundation provide moderate creaminess to full-bodied boldness. Loud black chocolate follow-through leans towards bitter side, staving off frugal mocha sweetness by simmering toffee finish. Brewery defunct: 2006.
DERGY’S CLASSIC ALE
Sedate buttery flow and casual spiced hop bitterness satiate floral yeast sweetening, but slight astringency at tempered finish knocks back initial warmth. Brewery defunct: 2006.
DERGY’S BLACK & TAN
Durable ale-porter mix permeated by sour mocha waft, rich chocolate malting, and lactic cocoa absorption retains milky vanilla creaminess, careening towards robust stout instead of lighter pale ale. Arguably the best bottled b&t, avoiding indistinct murkiness of floundering challengers. Brewery defunct: 2006.
DERGY’S AMBER ALE
DE RANKE XX BITTER
Green-bottled, pearly bubble-headed, scurvy-scented, amber-hued Belgian bitter maintains plush carbolic fizz and hefty citric-herbal hop tartness to dirty-grained foundation, culminating with durable yeat-sweetened barnyard-dried orange peel finish. Expansive hop-embittered prevalence conveys earthy ashen slither after few sips.
DE RANKE PERE NOEL
Peculair wintry ale brings expectant candi-sugared lacquer-like medicinal mouthfeel to less stylistic smoked wood chip groove calmly reinforcing green hop-embittered peppercorn fervor. Ashy abstruseness then coddles tertiary tobacco, lemongrass, and clove illusions clustering dry quince souring.
DE RANKE KRIEK
Eye-squinting white grape tartness, sour cherry pucker, and cork-like toil will clear out closed-minded simpler tastes that’d invert its high rating. Like a dry white wine aperitif, its leathery tannin acidity, cask-like oak nose, and grassy mouthfeel provide affirmative astringency amateurs will dismiss as vinegar.
(DE RANKE) GULDENBERG ABBEY TRIPEL
$10 for 1-pint 9-oz. bottle of fluffy ivory-headed alcohol-soaked blonde wrapped in white bag w/ blue stripes. Pour slowly thick resinous pale yellow fluid or explosive carbonation will overwhelm immediate lemon-peeled apple blast to sour grape finish. Peppery floral-hopped mandarin orange sidles vinous white grape tannins and red grapefruit rind subtlety. On tap at Growler & Gill, sweet honeyed malts and herbal citric spicing picked up pleasing cellar-like fungi yeast mossing.
(DE PROEF) SLAAPMUTSKE TRIPLE NIGHTCAP ALE
Loads of sugary yeast sediment sinks into viscous amber setting of intoxicating nickel-hued full body. Initial coriander-spiced apple sequence settles to honeyed almond-butterscotch midst before peppery hops awaken tart lemon rind wisp descending upon mildewed cellar-like finish. Musty floral herbs conceal banana, golden raisin, and green grape nuances.
(DE PROEF) K.O. BLOND BEER
Well-hidden 10% alcohol rigidity disguised by moderate banana-clove responsiveness and white-wined yellow grape tartness. Dandelion, elderberry, and rose pedal sop up caramelized candy yeast sinew. But buttered popcorn finish reduced to sourly diacetyl tepidity.